Speculation: Roster Building/Rumor Thread XVIII

[smoneil]

I’m the biggest Buch stan here, but, Kravtsov will indeed go nuts. 70+ pt season

This seems a bit optimistic. Considering their past production, I would be ecstatic to see them break 50 points this season. That would be an astronomical step forward for either player.

 

[JT Kreider]

You say this like he did a bad job. Our prospect pool is loaded and would be even if we didn't win the lotteries.


I just don't think Gorton was as aggressive as the higher-ups wanted given that we won those lotteries.

I don't think he did a bad job but I found him to be incredibly overrated all things considered.. how easy it is to sell off big names and how lucky we got with Fox, Panarin and 1st overall.

Also some of his biggest moves were rather big misses. His first big trade was Eric Staal right? His first big UFA signing was Shattenkirk? His first high profile pick (and what the highest pick the Rangers had in 20+ years and they somehow manage to mess that up royally in Andersson) and his most important move in trading our best player is looking to be a massive loss..

I don't know I'm just seeing the moves AZ are making and they just practically pulled nearly 10 2nd round picks out of midair.

 

[Rsswmu]

After seeing how easy it is for CBJ and Arizona to tear it all down and accumulate picks it is clear Jeff Gorton was handed the easiest job on planet Earth: to tear down a roster that was just a year removed from another near ECF birth.

He had a massive jump start on his rebuild by liquidating a team with huge names like Brassard, Stepan, Hayes, Zuccarello, Nash, Miller, McDonagh.. etc. He was in a position that was practically impossible to screw up.. and that's completely ignoring two of the best players in the league forced their way to NY and was handed a 1st overall pick from the heavens.

Tearing down a roster is always the easy and fun part. Building it back up is the hard part.

Look at all the picks AZ has been able to accumlate by only trading Garland and OEL and then using the rest of their cap space to get the equivalent of what Gorton got for all our top players he sold off.

You would think he is wrong on DeAngelo. Need to get a vaccine as a US citizen to enter Canada. So he would not be able to play over 50% of their games next year.

 

[JT Kreider]

Anyone can tear down a roster. That's not what Gorts did. They systematically moved pieces while also making sure that the team was competitive enough to compete every night. It isn't finance, where transactions are about assets and nothing more. A successful rebuild requires an environment where players think the team can win. That's what Buffalo, Edmonton, Arizona, etc always seem to forget. You can collect all the draft picks you want, but if they don't have an environment in which they can develop, the odds of them becoming what they can be goes way down. Walking that tightrope between re-building the team without bottoming out is a lot harder than it looks.

I think the difference between us and Buffalo is that we didn't let the losing stink infect our franchise, while Buffalo let it seep so deep into their locker room I think the only way to get it off them is to tear down the arena and change their logo and jersey colors and rebrand the entire franchise.

So I guess in this sense it's good we got Panarin when we did to limit the damage all that losing incurs.

 

[HatTrick Swayze]

Dead silent on the Eichel front, interesting.

 

[bl02]

Lafreniere-Zibby-???kakko???Kreider???Kravy
Panarin-Strome-Goodrow
Blais-Chytil-Kakko
Barron-Rooney-Gauthier

Lindgren-Fox
Miller-Trouba
Nemeth-Nils

Shesty
Georgie/Halak

Not bad... Good mix. Can always move up Gauthier and move down Blais. I think Goodrow is gonna get a shot being the Fast type (but a bit better) on the forecheck for that line. Just get them the puck.
Who gets that top RW spot with Lafreniere and Zibby?
That third line can be fun if it clicks

 

[DutchShamrock]

Seravalli has a podcast. He thinks DeAngelo is signing with the Maple Leafs. The DFO Rundown. It's available on iTunes. The Canadian media will drive Tony crazy. Frank reported Cizikas is looking for $5M AAV. Frank thinks Krejci will be valuable player in free agency. He is still a 50 point center. Short term deal.

The Habs new assistant coach is Trevor Letowski. He was Tony's head coach in junior. Sarnia. Apparently, the Habs are still interested. There was a tweet today.







Coleman is another $5M-$6M role player.

Well, Montreal clearly has zero F@#$ to give after the draft. Bergevin is embracing the French view of scandals and just leaning into it.

 

[RangerBoy]

Swing for the fences and sign Danault too.

If we run out of cap space, just cheat. All the contenders will be doing that now.

Trade for injured player contracts. The Leafs and TB have done it. The Leafs acquired Clarkson's contracts a couple of years ago. They had acquired Horton's contract for Clarkson 6 years ago. The Leafs put them on LTIR. TB acquired Gaborik's and Nilsson's contracts last off-season. TB did the same thing. They go over the upper limit. It's legal. The NHL didn't try to change the LTIR thing in the new CBA.

That would be a move to make when the Rangers are legit Cup contenders. Ryan Kesler's contract would be perfect. Anaheim would love to dump the $6.675M and they don't have to pay him anymore. He hasn't played since 18-19.

 

[smoneil]

I think the difference between us and Buffalo is that we didn't let the losing stink infect our franchise, while Buffalo let it seep so deep into their locker room I think the only way to get it off them is to tear down the arena and change their logo and jersey colors and rebrand the entire franchise.

So I guess in this sense it's good we got Panarin when we did to limit the damage all that losing incurs.

We not only signed Panarin, but we also held on to Zib and Kreider. Brought in Trouba. Moved players in waves over a couple of years. We didn't just dump every piece to collect top 5 picks for a few years in a row (though there were MANY here who advocated for that). Losing wears on players--especially young players who had rarely lost at anything before. Again--that's the tightrope. To pick up enough assets to have a successful rebuild while still winning enough to maintain a good team culture. This franchise has literally never finished bottom 5 in the league. Buffalo lives in that zone. And once you're down there, as you said, it's incredibly difficult to get the stink off of your franchise (the only two teams to do so in recent memory are the Oilers, who did it by purging some of their locker room and riding a generational center, and Columbus, who did it by dumping the face of their franchise and bringing in character guys like Dubinsky and Foligno).

 

[HFsNumber1Heel]

Nick Ritchie would be a nice get. As would Krecji, as would Bellemare.

 

[smoneil]

Dead silent on the Eichel front, interesting.

Not on the Buffalo boards. It's getting ugly. They've officially turned on him. It's looking like a scene out of Lord of the Flies over there.

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

Not on the Buffalo boards. It's getting ugly. They've officially turned on him. It's looking like a scene out of Lord of the Flies over there.

Bracing for impact over there I see lol.

IF you think it was ugly here the last few days, it's going to look like we just won the cup compared to what it will look like over there after the Eichel trade goes through and they see what he goes for.

 

[thethirdhockeyman91]

Lafreniere-Zibby-???kakko???Kreider???Kravy
Panarin-Strome-Goodrow
Blais-Chytil-Kakko
Barron-Rooney-Gauthier

Lindgren-Fox
Miller-Trouba
Nemeth-Nils

Shesty
Georgie/Halak

Not bad... Good mix. Can always move up Gauthier and move down Blais. I think Goodrow is gonna get a shot being the Fast type (but a bit better) on the forecheck for that line. Just get them the puck.
Who gets that top RW spot with Lafreniere and Zibby?
That third line can be fun if it clicks

Im fine with this lineup come opening night, if Buffalo doesn’t come down on their price for Eichel. The fetishizing of Danault on this board has gotten out of hand. It would be a terrible idea to trade Ryan Strome for a mediocre return only to end up overpaying for a center who is really a superstar shutdown 3rd line center who provides very little offense. Does anyone really envision Danault and Panarin having chemistry on a line? Danault is not the right center for Panarin.

 

[bl02]

Im fine with this lineup come opening night, if Buffalo doesn’t come down on their price for Eichel. The fetishizing of Danault on this board has gotten out of hand. It would be a terrible idea to trade Ryan Strome for a mediocre return only to end up overpaying for a center who is really a superstar shutdown 3rd line center who provides very little offense. Does anyone really envision Danault and Panarin having chemistry on a line? Danault is not the right center for Panarin.

I think anyone who watched an entire season of Danault would agree with you. I don't think stapeling Danault and Panarin is gonna be a good idea. he will wind up being our 3C paying him 6 million

 

[HatTrick Swayze]

Not on the Buffalo boards. It's getting ugly. They've officially turned on him. It's looking like a scene out of Lord of the Flies over there.

Just read through it...you're not kidding.

 

[jay from jersey]

5 million Czikas, 5 million plus Coleman. are we still gonna say Goodrow is way overpaid at 3.6?
is Czikas really gonna get that much? Damn

If Coleman doesn’t 99% sign with Dallas I’ll be shocked. It’s almost as bad of a secret as Shatty possibly going somewhere else when he became UFA

 

[bl02]

There is no doubt an East tax is being applied for Eichel. Just send him out west or keep him and get this shit over with.

 

[NYR Viper]

I still think Derek Ryan and Riley Nash would be nice 4th line options with Rooney. Gallant is on record of saying he doesn’t like young players on the 4th line. Assuming Strome is traded…

Panarin-Chytil-Kravtsov
Kreider-Zibanejad-Lafreniere
Blais-Goodrow-Kaako
Nash-Rooney-Ryan

 

[bl02]

Nick Ritchie would be a nice get. As would Krecji, as would Bellemare.

2 out of 3 ain't bad
Krecji would be nice but the longest shot of the three. Bellemare definitely intriguing and has positive history with Gallant but where are we playing him? Is he gonna block a kid since Rooney isn't going anywhere.

 

[jay from jersey]

I still think Derek Ryan and Riley Nash would be nice 4th line options with Rooney. Gallant is on record of saying he doesn’t like young players on the 4th line. Assuming Strome is traded…

Panarin-Chytil-Kravtsov
Kreider-Zibanejad-Lafreniere
Blais-Goodrow-Kaako
Nash-Rooney-Ryan

If we somehow got Ryan, not a shot in hell Rooney plays 4C over him

 

[bl02]

I still think Derek Ryan and Riley Nash would be nice 4th line options with Rooney. Gallant is on record of saying he doesn’t like young players on the 4th line. Assuming Strome is traded…

Panarin-Chytil-Kravtsov
Kreider-Zibanejad-Lafreniere
Blais-Goodrow-Kaako
Nash-Rooney-Ryan

what are we getting for Strome? Why not keep Laf at his natural position? No room for Gauthier?

 

[NoQuitInNewMexico]

Not on the Buffalo boards. It's getting ugly. They've officially turned on him. It's looking like a scene out of Lord of the Flies over there.

If we send them players I hope they give them a chance, even if they're pissed at what seems like a year's worth of annoying trade nonsense. But HF posters are a tiny percentage of fans, I think everyone gets what a "deep Buffalo Sabres rebuild" means, and the Sabres are probably in better shape for the next ~5 years than a lot of other franchises.

 

[Thirty One]

HOW IS ARIZONA AFFORDING ALL OF THESE BAD CONTRACTS?!?!?!

Lack of other contracts.

 

[jay from jersey]

Lafreniere-Zibby-???kakko???Kreider???Kravy
Panarin-Strome-Goodrow
Blais-Chytil-Kakko
Barron-Rooney-Gauthier

Lindgren-Fox
Miller-Trouba
Nemeth-Nils

Shesty
Georgie/Halak

Not bad... Good mix. Can always move up Gauthier and move down Blais. I think Goodrow is gonna get a shot being the Fast type (but a bit better) on the forecheck for that line. Just get them the puck.
Who gets that top RW spot with Lafreniere and Zibby?
That third line can be fun if it clicks

not bad. I still think we see another Vet on 4th line, and I’m still thinking that Barron is going to be a 3rd liner, flanked by 2 vets, whether it’s as a center( probable) or a winger

strome - gone soon
Chytil- possible goner/ maybe for Eichel

LaF-Zibby-Kakko
Panarin-??/Chytil-Kravtsov/Blais
Kreider-Barron-Goodrow
??/Richards/Vet-Rooney-Blais/Kravtsov
EX Gauthier
Lindgren-Fox
Miller-Trouba
Nemeth-Lundkvist
Shesty
????
Hopefully Georgiev is moved as well

As you can see we are still 1-2 moves from a finished Product I think

 

[GoAwayPanarin]

If we send them players I hope they give them a chance, even if they're pissed at what seems like a year's worth of annoying trade nonsense. But HF posters are a tiny percentage of fans, I think everyone gets what a "deep Buffalo Sabres rebuild" means, and the Sabres are probably in better shape for the next ~5 years than a lot of other franchises.

I feel like we say this every 5 years lol.